Ever really listen to a bunch of advertising, media and
marketing people and wonder just what in the blue blazes
they were talking about? “ADI’s, DMA’s,
MSA’s, etc., etc ... ad infinitum ... ad nauseam”.
Oh sure, there’s a lot more than these few and we
will gradually cover the rest, but these are as good a
place to start as any.
Anytime anybody starts to use a
lot of jargon that nobody else understands it’s a
sure bet that there’s
a wolf prowling the pasture. Kind of like lawyers, politicians
(interchangable with lawyers), and used car salesmen. In
other words, if they had wanted you to really understand
what they were talking about they would have used plain
English. Or at least plain American. Or Southern, whichever.
If they were truly erudite they would have used the more
precise “PV” (Pure Virginian) version of the “Mother
Tongue”.
The federal government has stipulated specific
definitions of markets that are based on numbers of households
and
population density known as Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSAs) and the smaller (and now defunct) Standard Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (SMSAs), giving way to the more profound
CMSA or Central Metropolitan Statistical area. These are
definitions handed down by our illustrious benefactors
in the District of Columbia who have empirically deduced
that if they move one step beyond the “Beltway” they
will fall off the face of the earth. Needless to say, the
larger the scope of the definition the lower Richmond falls
in the hierarchical ranking of major cities. If you look
real quick out your window you might see billions of dollars
in federal subsidies flying past your window. If you look
real hard at your advertising co-op dollars, the same thing
starts to happen. Unfortunately, nobody seems to notice
that the Richmond area is growing about 25% faster than
the rest of the country. Depending on who you talk to,
the Richmond MSA had a population of a little more than
630,000 in 1980 and is expected to have somewhere around
720,000 today. In terms of households, it went from almost
230,000 to around 275,000 - that’s over 20%. I mean,
really, we have not had this much of an influx since the
4th Massachusetts cavalry rode in on April 3 (1865). If
you want to have some fun, notice where people bought their
cars. You know, the little self advertising piece of chrome
on the trunk lid of a car? You’d be surprised how
that can help pinpoint in-migration.
Then there are the
abstract definitions of a market that are really befuddling
- ADIs, DMAs, etc. - and play havoc
with advertising and marketing dollars. These geographic
definitions are arbitrary and totally suspect - and yet
billions of dollars are spent every year on how a market
fares by their definition. ADIs and DMAs are media definitions
of markets based on where people are that listen to, or
watch, media more than from other areas. ADI stands for “Area
of Dominant Influence” and DMA for “Designated
Market Area”. So, if somebody lives 100 or 150 (air)
miles from where the signal originates, but they watch and
listen to stations from that city, they are counted - and
everybody
around them - in that market. Nobody asks them where they
shop.
ADI’s are market definitions created by Arbitron
and DMA’s are created by the A. C. Nielsen Company.
Since they both represent coverage areas, it always strikes
me as a little peculiar that they are never quite the same
in count. For example, the Richmond ADI has about 2,200
more people than the Richmond DMA. Not enough to put a
burr under the saddle, but enough to wonder who is - and
is not - being counted.
Now, just to confuse you a little
more, and so the numbers can work any way media people
want them to, an ADI is further
broken-down to a TSA (Total Survey Area) and a Metro area.
Now all this makes a lot of sense if you are marketing
a product nationally and have a lot of distribution throughout
the area; or, if you have a lot of stores in a given area
(like a department store, grocery store or bank). On the
other hand, if you are a single site retailer, is this
geographic coverage worth the price that you have to pay?
Probably not. Afterall, how many people within a given
geographic area really represent your customer base? And
if you have specialized products or services the numbers
come down dramatically and the cost to reach them goes
through the roof.
So what’s a person to do? Well,
dig in and keep your powder dry until the next chapter
when we carry the battle
to the aggressors.
Let’s see now, I believe we were
whittling away at a few conceptions, perceptions, and misconceptions
dealing
with the jumble of acronyms that the advertising industry
uses to camouflage market definitions - and what those
mean to you.
Well, we have given a brief overview of ADI’s
and DMA’s, how they are arrived at and what they
mean. Sort of. Afterall, some of those people in advertising
are known to scratch their heads, think a little bit, and
come up with entirely new definitions if they can’t
think of the right one - and who’s to know the difference?
Kind of like whether a mare can tell the difference from
a stud and a gelding. Anyway, if you read last month’s
column you know the difference and they probably still
don’t (you see, advertising people don’t read
this column for two reasons: 1) they already know it all;
and 2) well, figure it out). That’s to your advantage.
Now, let’s suppose that it is to your advantage to
advertise on radio or tv, or both. All market information
and ratings are generally given by sex and age; i.e., women
18+, men 25-34, adults 54+, etc. I don’t know about
you, but I have never known a retailer to have such broad
target markets - for all the products they sell. Oh sure
there are exceptions, but darn few when you really think
about it. So here is where we reconnoiter
behind enemy lines.
Understand that the numbers and ratings are quantitative
- tonnage, fill, reasons to get a lower GRP (Gross Rating
Point), TRP (Target Rating Point) or CPM (Cost Per Thousand)
cost figure. The idea is to make you think you’re
getting a lot more than you are paying for. You wind up
buying high numbers and low cost (and probably not enough
sales to justify the cost) and they wind up with a schedule.
(NOTE: remember that if an agency negotiates a price they
get a 15% commission off the top; if you buy your own media,
the media keeps that 15%. Now you know why they like dealing
with you directly).
What you really need to ask them is:
“
excuse me, kind person, I’m only an ignorant country
person, but what do your (listeners/viewers) buy? Do
they really buy my products? How often do they buy them?
And
what do your (listeners/viewers) really look like? Do
they look like my customers? Please be so kind as to elucidate
on these simple questions?” (As they lift themselves
up on one elbow from the floor, you continue...) “Would
you be so kind as to look at the pins I have in this
map and tell me how well you reach these simple, loving
people?...
And people like them? Oh, kind person, how much will
the cost be then?”.
It does not take long to figure
out that they’ll
probably skedaddle quicker then Rush’s Lancers
at Cold Harbor. No, they won’t be gone entirely,
they’ll
probably drop their lances and shoulder plates for carbines
and sabres before they charge again. And charge again
they will. (This time we’ll change tactics and
ambush them).
This time “they” will probably
counterattack with a computer-run using Cluster-Plus
(a system based
on geodemographics, remember that?), tied to their diary
returns, which indicates what products they do well with.
Okay, good strategy. But that gives us a perfect opportunity
to drawn down on them from covered positions:
“
Excuse me, kind person, since I’m STILL only an ignorant
country person, could you explain, to this simple mind,
how a statistically unreliable sample can be extrapolated
to cover the entire (listener/viewer) audience? Could
you be so compassionate as to explain what YOUR geocoded
audience
buys or needs? Not to mention how all this relates to
MY customers?So you see, instead of saying things simply,
everybody wants to impress with “I know more than
(they/you) do”.
Now, what it really comes down
to is this: I have spent two precious columns saying
a whole lot, when it could
be said quite succinctly, by you - to them:
“
Could you explain that to me in language I can understand?”
Remember,
it’s not the pretty uniforms and parades
that win a war, it’s logistics and tactics and capacity.
Above all, it is knowing your enemy and having a commitment
to winning that can often turn the tide.
